The present invention relates to a specific marker for synovial tissue degradation and to methods employing this marker in diagnosing, monitoring and determining a prognosis of synovial diseases.
Osteoarticular diseases or joint diseases are characterized by degradation, destruction or resorption of joint tissues. When radiological and clinical symptoms appear, the joint has already undergone major modifications due to attack of the cartilage and bone matrix. The search is on for a marker that can detect an earlier stage of osteoarticular diseases. In this context, the inventors have brought to the fore the fact that synovial tissue is the first to be degraded in certain osteoarticular diseases. In rheumatoid arthritis, the synovial tissue is the first to be degraded, then the cartilage tissue starts to be degraded, and bone tissue is the last to be affected.